Manila: From the musty and crowded viewing rooms in the slums to the air-conditioned theatres in suburban Makati City, people threw collective punches into the air to rejoice Manny Pacquiao's victory over Ghanian Joshua Clottey.
The 32-year-old Pacquiao defeated his African quarry via unanimous decision after 12-rounds on Sunday. Although the site of the match — the Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington, Texas — is 13,743 kilometres away, Filipinos bobbed and weaved with their idol as if the fight was taking place in their own living rooms.
At a house in an urban slum in Malabon, half-naked, heavily-tattooed men watched the Pacquiao match on cable TV over a few rounds of hard liquor.
"It is a joy to watch him fight and I never miss any of his match," says Bong Medrano, 52, a carpenter.
Equal gusto
The scene is replicated 23 kilometres away at the posh Makati Sports Club where a giant screen inside an air-conditioned theatre beams the fight around the same time. With families in tow, locals as well as foreigners watched the match together with equal gusto as their urban slum counterparts.
"There are no divides here, no lines over nationality. Everyone likes a good fight and Pacquiao is very good at delivering that every time," a Briton said.
While everyone of every nationality enjoyed the match, none would be more elated than Filipinos who welcomed the visual display of an otherwise tempered violence.
Ricardo Saludo, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman, said the match had been a temporary break from negativism, disputes, criticisms, and even crime in the country because everyone will be glued to their television sets for the spectacle.
Philippine politics is rife with mudslinging and muck racking and as the May 10 elections approach, the brickbats hurled, get uglier.
Saludo said local politicians have a lot to learn from Pacquiao. "This is a good lesson for politicians. Pacman [Pacquiao's monicker] fights hard but he makes it sure that he wins for his country and not just for himself," he said.
